INTERNET SOLUTION
Student turns to the farm
Matthew Vanheule was frustrated by slow internet speeds just like anyone else.
For him, the breaking point came when he was trying to stream live video feeds from business classes at the University of Windsor at his home near Thamesville. His solution was to create a wireless system hooked up to the tallest structure he had available to him: a bucket elevator on the grain bins on his uncle’s farm.
It worked. Then people started asking questions.
“Basically, when I started doing this I was just going to do it for my family,” Vanheule said. “But at the time other people were like, ‘Hey, if you’re already doing this can you come hook us up, too?’… I realized I could actually make a business out of this.”
Fast internet is in high demand. Rural internet speeds are significantly slower than urban speeds, to the point where farmers and small business owners often find their operations limited.
It was an issue discussed by the Western Ontario wardens’ caucus before they launched SWIFT — SouthWestern Integrated Fibre Technology — a plan based on major internet infrastructure installations throughout rural Ontario.
Other municipalities, such as Dutton-Dunwich southwest of London, have taken it upon themselves to install better internet infrastructure.
While everyone else was looking down, Vanheule looked up at bucket elevators, also known as grain legs.
“It’s a lot cheaper than trying to build physical towers, and they’re pretty (common) around here,” Vanheule said. “I’ll make deals with the farmers. Provide them with better internet and they’ll let me use their legs.
“It works very effectively,” he added. “Instead of having one big tower you have multiple smaller ones, which allow you to hit more people.”
Vanheule, 19, started his company — MPV Wifi — in early 2017. Since then, he’s installed wireless receivers on 15 elevator legs to convert them into makeshift “towers” and hooked up more than 100 customers, mostly around Thamesville.
Towers cost a little more than $5,000 to hook up, he said. It’s a low-cost operation that pays dividends for Vanheule and for the people he helps in rural Ontario.
“I’ve had a lot of businesses contact me,” he said. “They were having the same issue with internet … it’s nice to finally have (better speeds) out here.”
MPV Wifi offers speeds up to 35 megabits per second. It’s an upgrade from the top speeds of 10 megabits per second offered by other companies in the area, though it remains expensive — like most plans in rural Ontario. The Ultimate package costs $150 per month for speeds up to 35 megabits per second and unlimited usage.
Vanheule still takes classes Tuesdays and Thursdays. He hopes to eventually add some 100 customers per year, expanding to residents in Elgin, Lambton and Middlesex counties.